ESCONDIDO: Lexus dealership won't open until summer 2009

Construction delay will cost city much-needed sales tax boost

ESCONDIDO -- The sales tax boost city officials were expecting
from a new "super luxury" Lexus dealership will be coming at least
eight months later than expected.

Construction of the dealership began just west of Interstate 15
in fall 2007, and the facility had been slated to open this month.
But city and dealership officials said this week that work won't be
finished until at least July and possibly next fall.

The delay has been one of many factors responsible for
ballooning the city's projected budget deficit to more than $7
million for the fiscal year that ends in June.

City budget officials had projected about $100,000 in sales tax
from the new dealership when the budget was adopted last June, but
budget director Gil Rojas said they've since had to adjust that
down to zero.

The $7 million shortfall has forced city officials to make
significant cuts to libraries, firefighting, police and other
services.

Councilman Dick Daniels said the delay is disappointing because
the city treasury and the city's auto row could both use the kind
of jolt that the Lexus dealership is expected to provide.

Daniels said having a dealership with such upscale amenities
will encourage luxury car shoppers from across the county to
include Escondido in their search for the right vehicle. He said it
will also reinforce the idea that Escondido is the premier place to
shop for a car.

The dealership, which is on Ninth Avenue, is expected to
generate about $240,000 per year in sales tax for the city when it
is complete. That equates to $24 million in total revenue, or
roughly 350 sales averaging $70,000 per sale.

It will feature water shows, an upscale restaurant, piano music
and a gigantic outdoor media screen displaying colorful landscapes
and paintings. Similar dealerships have opened recently in Orange
County and south Florida, but not in the San Diego area.

Building such a dealership in Escondido was the idea of Judy
Jones-Cone, who owns Lexus Carlsbad and the new dealership. In a
"vision statement" for the dealership, Cone describes a different
approach to selling cars.

"It is our number one goal to engage the emotions of our
guests," wrote Cone. "We will entertain our guests with multiple
uses of sensory stimulation and motion."

Joe Russo, the city's assistant building director, said the
dealership would not open until July at the earliest. He said work
was nearing completion on the first phase of construction, which
includes a parking garage and storage facility. But work has not
yet begun on the second phase, which will include the showroom,
restaurant and other features, he said.

Dale Weston, advertising director for Lexus Carlsbad, said
Tuesday that the dealership would probably not open until fall. But
Weston said there was no chance Lexus would abandon the project or
delay the second phase of construction until the economy and auto
sales recover.

"We're still going forward," said Weston. "When it opens, this
thing will be beautiful."

Weston said he was not sure what had caused the delays,
suggesting that a December 2008 opening may have been too
optimistic to begin with. He said there have been no significant
design changes since the city approved the project.